


Khan

by Quagswagging



Series: Gift Fic Monday [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Lions, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24126052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quagswagging/pseuds/Quagswagging
Summary: Max considers himself lucky. He loves being a zookeeper and loves taking care of his pride of lions.There is only thing he loathes: giving tours to stuck-up celebrities.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Kimi Räikkönen/Sebastian Vettel
Series: Gift Fic Monday [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730953
Comments: 14
Kudos: 132





	Khan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simplyverstappen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyverstappen/gifts).



> Anon on tumblr said: 
> 
> _Hey! For Gift Fic Monday: I think SimplyVerstappen (verstappend on tumblr) really deserves a nice read! Their fics always make me smile :3 I don't know what exactly, but I'm sure anything Maxiel will be perfect!_
> 
> The second Gift Fic Monday fic! I had this idea in for a while now and just knew it would be perfect jsjs. Like 90%of all interactions we ever had were about lions, so this fits right in with that😂😂 I honestly also love everything to write so I grew with Anon, you deserve this!
> 
> This was supposed to be romantic but instead focused more on the animals than anything else lol (my biologist heart made me oops). I had a blast writing this, all the animals featured in this are some of my favs (cos I know most about those) and really Max is living my dream life ✌
> 
> Anyways, enough rambling, enjoy!

“Morning Max!” Sebastian greeted as the young zookeeper stepped through the gates. Max gave him a nod in greeting, walking over to his boss.

“Morning.” he said, leaning down to pet Seb’s yellow lab Lilly for a moment. “Anything special on the program today?” he asked. Seb got out his schedule, checking it over.

“There is this famous race car driver coming over. Maybe you can give him the tour? You’re the only one who can properly show them the cats.” he said. Max sighed. He much preferred the company of his big cats to the company of actual human beings (with a few exceptions) but unfortunately the tours were part of his job.

“Of course, as long as it doesn't interfere with feeding times .” he said. Sebastian rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn't dare.” the zoo director chuckled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my husband.” he chuckled. Kimi, Seb’s husband, and Max’s other boss, tended to focus more on the animals than the business side of it. He primarily worked with the birds, giving some demonstrations with their large hawks and owls, as well as the overly clever raven called Smudge. Sebastian always pretended to be bothered by his husband’s absence, but Max had caught him fondly looking on during Kimi’s training sessions with the birds more than once. 

“I’ll see you later. Call me if I need to meet the guests.” Max called over, before walking in direction of the lion enclosure. Khan, the large male in their small pride, was already pacing back and forth in front of the gates, awaiting Max’s arrival.

“Morning, big fella.” Max greeted him, chuckling as the impressive male chuffed at him. Khan, like any other male lion, looked impressive and strong, but out of the pride of 6, he was the most gentle. Max had raised him since he was a little cub, Khan’s mother not having the instincts to take care of him, and Khan had clearly not forgotten all the hours of bottle feeding.

Mocha, Huntress and Oracle, the three females of the pride, were sunning in the outside enclosure, Mocha pointedly ignoring the two cubs, _her_ two cubs, climbing over her. Max went into the small kitchen to prepare the copious amounts of meat the lions would get for lunch. He could hear the cubs’ soft growls and yips and chuckled, the sounds taking him back to when he had been caring for Khan practically 24/7. 

Once the food was ready, Max went on to the next enclosure, to check on Nebula, the zoo’s newest addition. Nebula was a beautiful clouded leopard who had been brought here on a breeding program. The zoo had already had a male clouded leopard, Ajax, for a good while now, and there were good hopes on Nebula being a good mate for him. 

“Morning cranky girl.” Max greeted as he passed the gates, seeing the low shrubs in the enclosure move as cat followed him. Max definitely didn’t have her trust yet, not like he had Khan’s or any of the female lions, but they were slowly getting better. A hiss erupted from the shrubs as Max threw meat over the fence, the young zookeeper smiling as Nebula shot from her hiding spot to grab her food. 

"Easy…" Max said softly, needing her to sit in place long enough to check for injuries. Nebula bared her teeth in his direction, before grabbing the meat and hiding back into her shrubs.

"See you later for dinner." Max chuckled in her direction, before walking back to the lions. Just as he reached the enclosure, his phone rang, and Max fired with it to pick up.

"Hi Seb." He greeted, having seen his boss's name flash on screen.

"Hey Max. The racer arrived. You can meet us at the entrance." Sebastian told him. Max sighed.

"On my way." He confirmed, jogging towards the golf carts they used to get around the zoo.

On his way to the entrance, Carlos waved him down, carrying buckets of fish remnants. 

"Please let me drive with you." Carlos groaned, almost dropping one of the buckets. Max chuckled.

"Hop in." He said with a roll of his eyes. The young Spaniard worked primarily with the sea lions, meaning dealing with lots of dead fish. But Max had to admit he looked pretty good in a wetsuit, and understood why so many people visited his show. 

"I'm in a hurry, I'll drive to the entrance and from there you can take the cart okay?" Max explained as he drove.

"Another tour? What kind of hotshot person is it this time around?" He asked. Max sighed.

"Some race car driver I think. So I'm guessing a spoiled guy who is only here for publicity. I doubt he even likes animals." Max grumbled. And not liking animals said a lot about someone, Max thought, for not liking animals meant you missed compassion.

He found Sebastian and Kimi waiting for him just behind the entrance. Kimi had Smudge the raven settled on his forearm, the large bird letting out a soft raspy sound when he spotted Max.

"Hi big boy." Max chuckled, taking one of the bird's treats and feeding it to the raven, who ruffled his feathers happily. Kimi smiled approvingly at him, meanwhile teasingly poking at the bird's beak. 

When Max had just started, he had helped around everywhere, just to get a feel of all the different species. Kimi had taught him all about the birds of prey, and Smudge especially had seemed to like Max. Unfortunately now, with his duties for the big cats, Max didn't have much time to train with the birds, but Smudge never forgot him.

A curly haired man stepped out from the small wooden building, wearing tight black jeans and a rather oversized white t-shirt. He smiled when he spotted Max.

"Ah is this my guide?" He asked with a friendly smile. Max nodded.

"I'm Max." He said, shaking the man's hand. 

"I'm Daniel, but call me Dan." The man introduced himself. Max vaguely recognized him since his roommate Lando was rather addicted to watching races. 

"Dan. Nice to meet you." Max said softly, already feeling awkward. Kimi gave him a look, before nodding at the driver too.

"We can first visit the aviary, after that you can pass by the sea lions to the cats." He decided, Smudge letting out a soft sound in confirmation. Daniel eyed the bird in wonder.

"He's beautiful." He said with a smile. Smudge puffed up his feathers and clipped his beak, asking for treats. Kimi smiled amusedly, gesturing Max and Daniel to follow him to the bird enclosures. 

Max was glad to find that Daniel really did seem interested in the animals, asking lots of questions but respectfully keeping his voice down. Smudge was even okay sitting on Dan's gloved hand, and Max knew the raven was a good judge of character. 

After the birds, Kimi left Max to do the remainder of the tour on his own. Max was a bit awkward at first, very few tours were so one on one as this one, but Daniel was open and bubble and genuinely seemed interested in Max's work.

They passed by the sea lion enclosure, where Carlos was in the water with two of the females for some training. The sea lions had multiple keepers, but Carlos was one of the only ones who could swim with them. The Spaniard smiled when he saw Daniel and Max, and gestured them closer.

"Beth likes to give kisses." He said, pointed at the younger sea lion nudging his arm. Max chuckled, knowing what trick Carlos meant, and told Daniel to stand with his back pressed against the glass border. Carlos poked the Aussie's cheek, signalling Beth to hop up, flippers resting on the barrier as the sea lion leaned in to press her nose against Dan's cheek. Max chuckled as the driver gasped in surprised, and quickly snapped a photo of the Aussie and the sea lion together.

"Very cute." Max chuckled. Daniel wiped at his cheek while Carlos called the sea lion back to him.

"God she smells like fish." He chuckled amusedly. Max snorted. 

"She does. As does Carlos." He teased, before gasping as Carlos made Beth slap her tail down to slash them with water.

"We better get going." Max chuckled, gesturing Daniel after him. "The lions need food soon." He added with a smile. Daniel gave him a curious look.

"They are very important to you huh? The lions I mean." He said softly. Max shrugged.

"It's my job. And they rely on me." He said. "If I didn't think they were important I should have quit ages ago. Not everyone understands why I am so passionate about this. But it is my life." He spoke strongly, and his words made Daniel smile.

"I know that feeling." He said with a smile. 

They had reached the lion enclosure, where one of the other zookeepers had already separated Khan into one of the inside enclosures.

"Khan needs a checkup, to see if he's healthy." Max exclaimed, leading Daniel into the keeper entrance. "You timed your visit perfectly." 

Khan was impatiently pacing around the small enclosure, letting out a soft sound when he spotted Max approaching. He bumped his head against the fence, seeming confused as to why he was separated from the others.

"Wow he is beautiful." Daniel whispered. Max smiled.

"Always stay behind me, okay? He can't hurt you, but strangers make him nervous." He explained, grabbing a bucket of cut up pieces of meat. He fed the piece to Khan through the fence to keep the cat interested. He of course watched his fingers, but Khan was always careful. 

"His name is Khan?" Daniel asked, waiting for Max to confirm it with a nod. The Aussie driver took a step closer, still staying behind Max. Khan huffed, pushing his nose against the iron bars, seeming curious about the Aussie. The lion's interest was surprising, as he generally really did become nervous around strangers.

"Khan, can you show me your belly." Max asked, patting his own stomach before holding a piece of meat higher up to encourage Khan to get up onto two legs, front paw placed against the fence. Max checked the lion's foot pads for abrasions, and his tummy for bloat, but the lion seemed healthy. 

Khan bumped his head again, looking for snuggles, but Max wasn't allowed in the enclosure to hug him.

"Sorry bud." Max sighed, carefully running his finger over the foot pad in comfort. 

"He likes you." Daniel muttered behind him, watching as Khan tried to push his nose through the fence. Max chuckled.

"I raised him. He came in here when he was a 5 week old cub, and I fed him, cared for him, until he could fend for himself." Max whispered. "He is too big now for me to be able to enter the enclosure with him. Which sucks." He sighed. 

A hand came to rest on his shoulder and Max jerked awake, the touch startling him as he had even forgotten Daniel was there. Khan had sat down next to the fence now, brown eyes boring into Max's. 

"I know buddy." Max sighed. Khan chuffed and rubbed his cheeks against the bars. Daniel's arm had snaked around Max's shoulders and Max leaned into the touch a little.

"I thought you would be another arrogant rich kid." Max admitted, turning to Dan. "But maybe you're not so bad." He muttered. Daniel chuckled. 

"Khan seems to like me." He teased. "Right Khan?" He cooed. The lion eyed him for a moment, but then chuffed and blinked slowly. Max rolled his eyes.

"Show-off." He grumbled. Daniel grinned widely.

"Look, this is going to be a bit too straight forward." Daniel said. "But I like you. And I quite like your workplace. Now that I've seen yours, maybe you'd want to see mine?" He groaned when he realised what it sounded like. Max smiled. 

"I'd like that." He chuckled. "It'd be something else to see horsepower and not just horses." He added with a goofy smile. Dan snorted, Khan alerting to the sound and baring his teeth a little.

"He doesn't like it when you make fun of me." Max chuckled, feeding his big cat another piece of meat to calm him down again. Daniel bowed his head.

"I apologise sincerely to you both." He chuckled. Khan eyes him for a moment, before letting out a soft chuff again and contentedly laying down. 

Max turned to glance at Daniel, who was still focused on Khan with a soft smile on his face. Daniel had the compassion for animals, and both Khan and Smudge had approved of him. He smiled lightly, feeling something flutter in his chest. 

Maybe, just maybe, there could be a human Max could love as much as he loved his cats. 

~~~~~

BONUS SCENE

"If he mauls you, we are not held responsible." Sebastian said anxiously, the zoo owner nervously nibbling on his nail. Max chuckled, looking at Khan through the fence. The lion seemed to know something was about the open and had scurried away from the doors a little in apprehension. The three ladies and their two Cubs had been brought inside earlier, so it was just Khan in the outside enclosure.

"You sure about this Maxy?" Daniel asked, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. Max looked up at him and smiled.

"I trust him." He said. Daniel hummed, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his lips. 

"Of course." He said. "Just know I love you, yeah?" He added, pressing another kiss against Max's temple. Max chuckled.

"I love you too. And I'll be absolutely fine." He said, before walking to the cage. "Let me in." He said confidentially. Kimi, who seemed to be the only one having any faith in this, nodded and pulled the lever to open the iron doors. 

Max took a deep breath, and then stepped inside, hearing the doors close behind him. Khan seemed a bit confused, laying on the dusty grass a bit further away. Max smiled at him, kneeling down.

"Come here, _kleintje_ " he whispered. Khan got up, sniffing in his direction, before letting out a loud chuff and jogging in his direction. Max could hear the others taking in sharp breath as the lion neared him, but he wasn't afraid. Khan stopped when he was less than a metre away, and laid down again, chuffing loudly. Max reached out and placed a hand on Khan's muzzle, giving him a shaky smile.

"I get to cuddle you again, bud." He whispered. Khan let out a soft noise and nuzzled into Max's touch , attempting to crawl onto Max's lap as he had done when he had been a cub. Max wrapped his arms around Khan the best he could, chuckling as Khan licked at his hair.

Daniel stepped closer to the fence.

"Now I have the feeling I should be jealous of this." He chuckled, before a soft smile spread over his face. "But I don't mind sharing Max with you, Khan."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't suggest getting in an enclosure with a lion, it generally doesn't end well lol
> 
> Ravens really are as smart as described here: they often mimic human behaviour and can been learn to speak! 
> 
> Clouded leopards are MUCHOS endangered, but so gorgeous! I had the pleasure of seeing one in a zoo in Washington, and all she did was hiss before scurrying off again lol
> 
> Feel free to yell at me on tumblr! @bwoahtastic


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